THE SALMON FISHER. 57 



and it should taper for seven to eight yards at the 

 end. A bulky line shows too much in the water. It. 

 is a good rule to fish with as thin a line as one can 

 possibly make good casting with. 



There is a good deal of nonsense afloat about the 

 selection of flies the least experienced anglers, 

 being apt to talk most empirically of patterns, sizes* 

 and numbers of hooks ; and a sort of international 

 dispute is rife as to the size of flies used by English, 

 and American anglers respectively it being charged, 

 that Americans use giant flies habitually, while hi& 

 more intelligent British cousin fishes " fine and far 

 off, you know." The truth is, that national proclivi- 

 ties disappear when skilled anglers come to the 

 scratch, and one is just as apt as the other to select 

 those flies which are most suitable to the water and 

 the season, both as regards size and pattern. An 

 old Scotch angler in the London Fishing Gazette 

 gives this good advice. He says : 



" Many anglers get so conservative in their ideas 

 that they think if the fish do not take a Jock Scott 

 or some ther fancy one they have, all the same size,, 

 they will take nothing. I consider this a great mis- 



